The present invention relates to an electric component arrangement structure of a vehicle which is equipped with an electric component arranged between a seat cushion of a front seat and a floor panel and emitting heat.
It is known as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-341373, for example, that a power unit is arranged between a seat cushion of a front seat (a driver's seat or a passenger's (assistant's) seat) and a floor panel forming a bottom face of a vehicle compartment.
Herein, in case in which the electric component emitting heat is arranged between the seat cushion of the front seat and the floor panel like the above-described conventional arrangement of the power unit, the arrangement location of the electric component is in the vehicle compartment, so that the reliability of the electric component can be improved and a space below the front seat can be utilized properly.
Meanwhile, in some vehicles, a conditioning air is supplied from an air-conditioning unit provided in an instrument panel toward a passenger seated in a rear seat arranged in back of the front seat via an air-conditioning duct. In general, this air-conditioning duct is arranged on the floor panel and extends in a vehicle longitudinal direction, passing below the seat cushion of the front seat.
In a case in which the above-described electric component is arranged below the front seat of the vehicle equipped with the air-conditioning duct, it is necessary to properly arrange the air-conditioning duct and the electric component in a limited space below the front seat. Thus, there exists some problem of location relationship of these members. That is, there is a concern, depending on a particular location relationship, that the conditioning air supplied from the air-conditioning duct may be blocked with the electric component or may receive an improper influence of the heat emitted by the electric component and thereby change the temperature thereof unstably. Further, when the conditioning air is a hot air, a smooth radiation of the heat emitted by the electric component may be restrained by this hot air, so that the electric component may receive some damage improperly.